‘Mediocre’ Kiss Trade Barbs with ‘Ugly Little Troll’ Rock Critic

It has long been suspected that one of the main forces that had kept Kiss out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for years was critic Dave Marsh, who sits on the Hall of Fame's committee. On the eve of their induction, Marsh outlined the reasons for his objection to the band, which resulted in Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley firing back with a few jabs of their own.

“Musically, I was done with them before I ever turned the first album over to the second side,” he writes in the monthly ‘Rock & Rap Confidential.’ Kiss had an extraordinary aptitude for adopting every cliché in hard rock history, and a complete absence of any ability to create so much as a hint of a new one.”

It’s not just their music that offends Marsh, who continues, “I realize this paints Kiss as more mediocre than incompetent, but…all that mediocrity was harmless enough until the boastful bassist decided to turn it into a propaganda machine for the only two things he’s ever loved: Gene Simmons and money.“

Marsh concludes by that, in the realm of ‘70s hard rock, Deep Purple, Cheap Trick and Motorhead, that are “not just more deserving, but far, far better choices.” However, he does admit that “they have the best make-up in the Hall. Until Insane Clown Posse is inducted, at least.”

Never one to back away from a war of words with their critics, Stanley and Simmons responded to Marsh on Twitter. Simmons, using his now-trademark all-caps, called him an "ugly little troll." Stanley, whose feelings about the Hall have been well-documented, not only took his own shot, but also retweeted the thoughts of some of his followers, embedded below.